Nigerian army said it killed more than 300 members of bandit gangs during a two‑day operation in Zamfara’s Gummi district, according to the state’s information commissioner. Bandits and affiliated jihadist groups have repeatedly attacked rural communities in northern and central Nigeria, seizing cattle, kidnapping residents for ransom and imposing protection fees on farmers. Residents reported that soldiers and local vigilantes engaged roughly 1,000 bandits who had stolen livestock, a confrontation that began on Wednesday night and continued into Thursday morning; officials said more than 300 bandits were killed. The army had previously attempted to assault the bandits’ camp two weeks earlier but was forced to withdraw after being outnumbered, residents said. The operation follows a series of security challenges in Nigeria, including a 17‑year insurgency by Boko Haram and its rival Islamic State West Africa Province, as well as widespread banditry driven by poverty. A joint US‑Nigerian mission in May killed the second‑in‑command of Islamic State and about 200 fighters in the northeast. The army also reported casualties while rescuing more than 40 children who had been abducted in southwest Nigeria, a region previously seen as relatively safe. Government officials described the Gummi operation as a breakthrough in restoring order, though the long‑term effectiveness of the campaign remains to be seen.